Force Gurkha

Force Gurkha Review

Bookings of Force Gurkha started at payment of Rs. 25,000

October 16, 2014: Domestic car maker Force India has started the bookings of its awaited SUV Gurkha on the down payment of Rs. 25,000 and will start its deliveries after the fifteen days of booking to the owners. The SUV would be launched in diesel variant with two driving options 4X2 and 4X4. There would be overall three trims one would be of-course 4X2 while there would two trims hard top and soft top in 4X4 driving option. The SUV would be empowered with 2.6 litre 4 cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing the power of 82 PS @3200 rpm and torque of 230 Nm @1800 rpm – 2000 rpm.

Force Gurkha found testing on Mumbai roads

June 18, 2014: The deliveries of Force Gurkha scheduled to be launched in September 2014, spies have witnessed the MUV on outskirts on Mumbai roads. The upcoming MUV would sport 2.6 litre turbocharged diesel engine received from German car maker Mercedes Benz, developing the power of 85 bhp and torque of 230 Nm.

Deliveries of Gurkha to start from September confirmed by company officials

June 5, 2014: Breaking all the myths finally the Indian auto making company Force Motors has confirmed that it will start the deliveries of its highly awaited vehicle Gurkha from the September this year. The vehicle will be available also for test drives and will be delivered to buyers immediately after the booking. Gurkha will be empowered with 2.6 litre Mercedes OM 616 turbo charged intercooled engine coated with 5 speed synchromesh transmission and 4WD with Hi – Lo option.

Force to start deliveries of Gurkha from June

May 20, 2014: Finally the wait of prospective buyers of Force Gurkha will come to an end in June 2014, as according to reports finally the Indian car maker is going to start delivery of its classic SUV Gurkha from June this year. Prior to this company had launched Gurkha last year but did not make its delivery to buyers. The SUV is equipped with 2.6 litre turbocharged diesel engine developing the power of 85 bhp and torque of 230 m.

Force Gurkha SUV Review by Expert

Force Motors India is better known for its three wheelers, MUV’s, commercial vehicles, cross country, tractor and heavy commercial vehicles but when it comes to passenger vehicle segment Force Motors is not that well known. This Indian company was founded in the year 1958 by Mr.N.K Firodia with Mr. Abhay N Firodia appointed as Chairman and Prasan Firodia as M.D. The company started its production with a vehicle christened as ‘Hanseat’ in a JV with German company - Vidal & Sohn Tempo Werke and created a name for itself in the light commercial vehicles segment with Matador in India. A 1958 commercial vehicle segment company then explored new ventures and entered the passenger vehicle segment much later i.e. in the year 2011 when it rolled out its first vehicle called as ‘Force-One’.

Force Motors, took the whole auto industry with surprise when it launched the Gurkha 4X4X4 SUV in 2013, as the company rolled out the new vehicle in three variants with soft top and hard top guises, a not so seen feature in the Indian auto industry. The highlight in this Force vehicle is the engine incorporated which is the world renowned Mercedes OM 616 turbo charged powertrain. The 2.6L engine imported from the house of Mercedes churns out 82PS @ 3200rpm peak power with 230Nm of torque @ 1800-2000rpm. The engine found under the hoods of Force is BS3 complaint and is likely to be called as the world’s most capable and comfy off-roader which gives impeccable performance on road and comes with the hi-tech bells and whistles that are couple of decades ahead of the competition. Gurkha’s lineage can be traced back to Mercedes G wagon and the vehicle is also exported to military units and European Union countries. And apparently many of the Gurkha’s are sourced or licensed from Mercedes Benz, Setyr-Puch or Bosch. Force Motors offers this 4 wheel drives in three wheel bases. 2400 mm, 2750 mm and 3050 mm and Gurkha’s wheelbase is marked at 2400mm.

With the launch of this extremely affordable Force Gurkha 4x4x4, one does not need to create a hole in the pocket and can satisfy their quench of owning an extreme off-roader. The globally renowned off-roaders which pick your pocket as they come in India en route CBU carrying a colossal price tag. However, the Indian manufacturers or the manufacturers who have a facility here in India have build mean machines more robust and fuel economy and the example being Force Gurkha which is affordable and offers a spirit of adventure.

Force Gurkha Mileage and Fuel Efficiency

Model

Mileage (City)

Mileage (Highway)

Force Gurkha Diesel

10 kmpl

12 kmpl

Force Gurkha Engine power and performance

Force Gurkha heart is loaded with one of the best in class Mercedes Benz diesel engine that enhances its performance and does not compromise on the life of the engine. The German auto major is known to build the best diesel engines in the industry. The 2.6L turbocharged, intercooled, OM616 engine in layman terms called as TD-2400 FT. The engine is known to offer out 82PS @ 3200rpm and 230Nm of torque @ 1800-2000rpm.

Being an oil burner one cannot complain about the NVH levels with this engine as it is super smooth and extremely silent. The best part being the engine comes with longevity of 2 to 3 lakh kilometers without the need of being overhauled. In order to take the performance higher Mercedes has mated the engine with the world famous, Mercedes derived G1-18 gear box which is known to be the smoothest and most reliable transmission gearbox in its class.

Exteriors and Features Of Force Gurkha

Unlike most vehicles of recent times which are built up on box sections Force Gurkha body structure is a rare Tubular chassis. Where rest of the manufacturers chose to build on easy, Force extended its journey to that extra mile and chose the tubular chassis for extraordinary performance, flexibility and strongness. Force Gurkha’s frame is sturdier, rugged in comparison to its competitors and has proven its strength of character when it comes to real life crashes and in off-roading journeys where it is sure to protect its passengers.

The refreshed exteriors of Force Gurkha feature a new front fascia that when it comes to first look seems a bit overdone style wise. The discreet and lay low but the classic aesthetics of the test mule version were more appealing. Gurkha is based on Mercedes-Benz G-Class platform and the front fascia oozes out the sporty and rugged appeal of this off-roader with the G-wagon inspired forceful headlamps. Force has used a lot of chrome styling in the front with the Force insignia and Gurkha’s logo type characters featuring in the central area. The grille is hidden behind and the fog lamps features just beneath the headlamps. The LED flashlights instead of being present with the headlamps are incorporated sideways.

The ground clearance of Gurkha is marked at 210 mm to ensure that the vehicle is manageable in all sorts of terrains and is adorned with Snorkel intake which goes from the bonnet to the roof in chrome styling that ensures that it pass through the shallow water bodies comfortably. The new Gurkha features the same alloy wheels which the Force One runs on, the 235/70 section road tyres.

Force Gurkha Interiors and Features

When Force the designing the interiors of the vehicle, the company paid attention and used all the skill to maximize the space as the vehicle was being developed for the military purposes. With the space available in the cabin area the vehicle can be labeled as ‘auto Titanic’ as it can easily accommodate 9 fully armed soldiers; as and when one sits slips into this vehicle the vast amount of head room and legroom space becomes evident. The vehicle is fit enough for an extended Indian family with the 2750mm of available space.

However what one needs to keep in mind is that as the vehicle is designed for military purposes, bells and whistles in the interiors of Force Gurkha are kept to a level of functionality only. The designing has not been paid much attention and is very minimalistic and of Spartan level. The single objective of the Indian manufacturer was to maximize the passenger space and yet the seats seem to offer comfortable and adequate lumbar support with an armrest.

Coming to the spacing in the front row, the driver’s side seem to have decent amount with suitable legroom space however when it comes to the passenger side, the side spacing feels a bit cramped if your statics exceeds 5’10”. No complaints on the rear side spacing but the dash are same old traditional plastic one that features RPM meter, clock and GPS function comes as optional. Force could really have raised the standard here and same goes for the indicator cluster. The main cluster is now illuminated with the EDC lights and the air vents are redesigned but the material used it still economic.

Driving and Handling of Force Gurkha

Driving and handling of Force Gurkha is butter smooth, despite the fact that it is a very large vehicle. The very level headed suspension selection by Force engineers makes it easy for the driver to handle both on-road and off-road conditions. Force Gurkha’s grip on road and cornering capabilities are astonishing. The SUV is loaded with double wishbone independent front suspension with torsion bars and live axle with elliptical leaf springs at the rear end.

The front and the rear axles come with anti roll bar and Force has incorporated additional stabilizer bars at the rear axle to maintain stability. All these technical features means nothing till one starts driving the vehicle and then they spring to life to make your ride ultra smooth with very little effort required from the driver’s side in maneuvering. The power steering readily falls into hands and makes the vehicle agile while the front disk and rear drum brakes do an excellent job of putting the vehicle to a halt.